Target audience for MY idea

Target audience for my music video on Prezi

My Group's Pitch

George Spooner:

He came up with the idea of having a break up and the development of a relationship with the events in reverse. It would start in a bar with the band singing and her walking out of the bar and go through the various emotions effected within their relationship with a montage inspired editing of different shots at different stages of it. He wanted to use the song, Walk by the Foo Fighters. Here is the original video:

He wanted to keep with the concept of having him walk whilst singing and experiencing an unlucky day.
I liked his idea a lot and when discussing as a group we liked the idea of having the events experienced in reverse but there is the problem that it could become confusing to the audience member.

Anoushka Babur:

She had two ideas, both of which would include a lot of time in after effects but are both original. Her first idea was having the narrative of a couple in the style of a comic book and had inspiration pictures of the Archie comics,

Her second idea was very different and included three generations of couples, having a boy and girl in a park (her original idea was in a war shelter but after discussing it, decided it was not relevant to the rest of her video), a couple getting married and an old couple sitting on a bench watching the sunset. At the same time, the woman will enter into the shot of each one. The song she wanted to use was 'Open Your Eyes' by Snow Patrol. 

Pitch for Music Video

Here is my powerpoint presentation that I used to pitch my idea for the music video for Snow Patrol's 'RUN':

However, after listening to the feedback and looking back at my presentation I have decided to adjust my idea because it was too complicated and would be particularly confusing for the viewer. Instead of having a woman running away, the woman is going to be dead and it does not necessarily have to be shown with the actual car crash but rather the seperate shots will be of:

• him at a graveyard-the audience will not know that he is at a cemetary until the end

• Home video montage which will be on the tv in the apartment of what was their wedding, so I no longer want to have the concept of a ruined and burned down wedding because I felt that the tone and lyrics of the song was focused more on the loss of someone and having the man in his apartment watching his marriage, it is clear that he misses his ex-wife.
• Similarly, I will have the man packing away his memories of his relationship with her to indicate he is trying to move on but still misses her

There was also the idea of getting rid of the band because the slow pace of the song contrasts to the image given with the use of a band and so the man going through the loss will be the one singing at certain points in the video-when the lyrics are key

I need to consider the editing of the music video and remember that the song is slow-paced and so it cannot be quick cross-cuts between shots.

Snow Patrol's use of the media

Here is a screen grab of their front page of their website:

They have references to Twitter, Facebook and have a YouTube video from their YouTube page giving an indication that although part of their target audience is older, they are trying to get broaden their music through modern technology and the media, making them appealing to a younger generation. Additionally, having them on Twitter or Facebook allows fans to become 'friends' with them and 'follow' them and their lives. Additionally, the use of the blue background neutralises the gender and the focus is clearly based upon the music as there are no photos of them posing, suggesting that they are a band purely focused on their music. Once you have reached this page you then click the button that says: "CLICK TO CONTINUE TO SP.COM" and it will take you directly onto the main site:

The set up of the website is focused on their music and about the band to inform fans of concert dates etc. Additionally, the photo in the background gives the impression that they are all friends and having them surrounded by instruments with some of them practising indicates their passion for music and that they make music because they love it.

Further research into Snow Patrol

By choosing a song by Snow Patrol, an already well-established band, I had to further my research in them and their target audience.

The picture of them is an indication that the band is only men and that they are serious about what they are doing, linking to Adele's image also as with Adele, they are wearing fairly normal clothing to establish that everyone can relate to them.

One of the first places I went to look was their website, here is a screen grab of their homepage and main page of their website:

Similar artists include bands like Coldplay and Keane, both of which are listened by the likes are aimed at an older audience. However, through my video I hope to also attract a younger audience as well.

Coldplay

Both bands have a soulful atmosphere to their music with meaningful lyrics that can be relatable to a younger audience as well as an older audience.

Another song idea...

I went on YouTube and determined to find a song that would go perfect with a music video similar to the one I had in my head...I found 'Run' by Snow Patrol. It is about a man distraught over  losing a loved one either literally or emotionally.



The original music video is very different to my more narrative idea including a huge emphasis on mise-en-scene and cinematic shots. The original video has the singer as the core focus as he walks up the hill with a motorbike and then once reaching the top throws it on the ground, symbolising the relationship that has just ended. However, I liked the idea of having the band playing at a burned down and wrecked wedding altar, all wearing black, it would then cut to a shot of a girl in a torn and tattered wedding dress running away crying with a champagne bottle in her hand. However, the main focus of the song is emotionally depressed but also telling their partner that they will still love them and that will be the role of the groom, sitting in the studio which will be set up in a similar way to a house packing away old photographs and memories of the two of them together.

I think that this video would attract both genders and the audience will easily be able to identify with it because the topic of broken relationships and lost emotion is very common with everyone. Additionally, the man will be upset and good-looking, making him likeable and attractive to a female audience. Similarly, the woman will be attractive and although she will be crying, having her holding a champagne bottle and running clearly shows independence and strength making her appealing to a male audience. The music is something everyone would listen to.

Ideas for music video

Here are a couple of basic ideas that we came up with whilst discussing our music video:

• use acoustic version of song
• war--could have it set in a war zone or a shelter
• wrecked wedding altar--have the band playing in a burned down wedding altar
• have a woman in a long white dress holding shoes walking on a beach slowly
• have the studio filled with wine glasses filled with water and then when the beat kicks in have paint thrown and the paint and the water with end up on the walls giving it an artistic effect
• having somebody standing still or sitting still on a bench amongst everyone else edited in fast motion

I like having the idea of a narrative within the video because videos such as 'Love the way you lie' by Eminem featuring Rhianna has the performance element with the two of them singing and their close ups but it also includes a clear story of a journey of an abusive relationship.

Negus-putting his theories to our music video

Negus is the person behind the two paradoxes for producing music videos, they are:

1. synthetic--artist that is manufactured by record company
                    controlled
                    usually based around one album which is based on a mass-market (a fad)
                    create short term profits that help the longer projects

2. organic--original
                  natural sounding
                  authentic
                  long-term projects
                  record companies nurture their talent
                
HOWEVER...both paradoxes are commercialised, use advertising to sell the music and shape the way in which the artists' images and careers are developed.

SYNTHETIC - Cheeky girls --> one hit wonders

ORGANIC - U2 --> have been making and selling music for decades that is their own

I want to create an organic look for the band and video that I am going to create because people nowadays are beginning to prefer the sound of the music rather than the image that is created. However, having said that, there is a combination of both today and artists such as Justin Bieber have been constructed by the media BUT are selling millions with original music and was found on YouTube, giving the understanding that a combination is key for a certain target audience, specifically young teenage girls in terms of Justin Bieber.

How I will incorporate Dyer into my music video

Richard Dyer is the man behind the theory of star image and from that has produced the concept that in order to sell an artist's music, you first have to sell the artist and their image. Star image is designed to:

a) appeal to a specific target audience
b) advertise through the mass-media

Different artists have a different image depending on their type of music and whether or not they want the audience to identify with them or if they want to have the distance. Two contrasting examples are Lady Gaga and Adele.

Lady Gaga has become known for her outlandish outfits and inhuman dances that she performs in her videos and concerts. In a similar way to Madonna, Lady Gaga is used as a representation of someone who does not care what anyone thinks and although the outlandish regular audience would not necessarily directly copy her ideas of style and interests, they still look up to her and follow her movements on the ever-growing website, Twitter.

She also creates controversy, noted with her music video, Telephone with Beyonce which at one point was even taken off YouTube until an edited version was soon uploaded in users personal accounts as a replacement.



However, Adele is someone that the record companies wish people to focus on her voice but to also look at her and feel they can connect with her on a more personal level because of the 'normal-looking' clothes and make-up that she wears.

Within her videos, there are usually a lot of close-ups of her face, and specifically in her music video for the song, 'Someone Like You' it is of her singing at the Brit Awards giving her a dual personality of ordinary but at the same time extraordinary from her talent. Additionally, having her performance as the music video is the record company's way of informing the viewer that she is 'raw talent' and loves performing. Other videos that she has are also focused on the artistic approach which I find particularly interesting, for example 'Rolling In The Deep'.



I want to incorporate the concept of the star in the video appearing normal but at the same time extraordinary because I want to use the idea that the audience feel they can identify with the artist on a more personal level because of how they are perceived. 

Music Video Ideas

When coming up with ideas for a music, I chose music with lyrics that meant something to me and would have an impact on the audience if they saw it. Additionally, I also researched this further by YouTubing their music videos. The song and video that I was most taken with was 'The A Team' by Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran started off by recording in 2005 but wasn't truly discovered until 2010 when his song 'The A Team' went to Number 3 in the UK Charts. It is a song that deals with problems that many people don't usually like to discuss such as prostitution, over-dose and abuse, thus focusing on a niche audience. Other artists such as Jason Mraz, James Morrison and Example are usually associated with him because of the type of music and meaning they wish to portray.

Jason Mraz

Example

James Morrison

I also looked at Snow Patrol as a genre to focus on because we could use their songs and adapt it into our own. I like the idea of having someone potentially sitting still on a bench whilst the rest of the world is continuing in a sped up and edited version to show life continuing without and around him.

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer is an English academic whom specialises in the film industry and media and is now the Head of Media and Kings University and previously to that he worked at Warwick University.

He came up with the theory about "star image" and how the media focuses mainly on the quality of the celebrity's image and how they would best sell towards their target audience; an example being Cheryl Cole:

She is someone whom has been completely constructed by the media in order to create a "perfect" woman, her look, voice and how she is the 'face of l'oreal' is all down to the "star image" that Richard Dyer is discussing and is an indication of how much the media has taken over our lives. Moreover, this is also specifically relevant with the fact that most stars now are on twitter allowing 'regular' people to follow them and thus, feel apart of the famous lifestyle.

Music Video Analysis

The music video I chose to analyse was Michael Buble's 'Hollywood'



The reason for the video is a way for Michael Buble to comment on the various behaviour by celebrities and what fame has made people become. It opens with him standing in a studio, having his photo taken to establish to the audience that we are going to take a look into the life of a celebrity. He then walks into a set up of a chat show and he is clearly supposed to represent Justin Bieber at this point in the video, noted with his hair and purple jacket; the use of having him as the icon for "the next teen sensation" is a way of indicating how powerful the media is because Justin Bieber was founded on the video sharing website: youtube. Additionally, the significance of the chat show and Oprah with "telling Oprah who you are" is a way of showing the audience how much is depended on how they are portrayed, this relates with the part in the video when he walks past the representation of a celebrity being hassled by the papparazzi and finally giving them a smile. Similarly, throughout the video the audience is taken through a journey through the eyes of a camera following Michael Buble similar to that of the papparazzi following him and could thus indicate his frustration with the constant hassle by the media. Furthermore, having him sing about the life a celebrity has to lead because of the media and their producers is a way of expressing his personal opinion of it and having him 'racing in a car' but in reality in a studio with a fan to create wind and a screen behind him is a way of suggesting the fakeness of everything.